Måneløs

My favorite from the line. It's a chilly and faintly musky floral where I get less of a portrait of individual floral notes than an all-encompassing bouquet of scent. It's light and wispy, and there's a touch of powder from the carrot seed, but there's also a sort of dignified gothic elegance to this that underscores the whole thing and really brings the composition home for me. This feels like the floral arrangement on a table in the entryway of a cold haunted house lit by candelabras that provide traces of warmth and dim flickering light but don't drown out the chilly drafts that permeate the home. Black cat on the windowsill, old piano playing itself in the parlor. Makes me think of Miss Havisham from Great Expectations. But this is still is totally wearable, elegant, comforting, and not-the-least-bit amateurish. The brand sells through Etsy, so it's worth mentioning that this doesn't smell at all like the work of a hobbyist or someone taking their first crack at perfumery, so don't let the Etsy thing deter you here. This feels very expertly done, and if you told me that it was the work of a well-established perfumer with dozens of releases for various brands under their belt, I'd 100% believe you.

Alas, the carrot seeds kill this for me. My skin just amps up the vegetal smell and that is something I dislike in most perfumes. It does dry down in about 30-45 minutes and that note recedes, leaving a lovely floral bouquet behind, so I can't say I dislike this. I actually really like it from that point on, but not enough to purchase a full bottle. Of course, this is based upon two spritzes to my wrist, so I haven't given it a proper wearing. I plan to do that and will see if that changes my opinion. I'm giving this a Like because of the dry down, but the opening is a true dislike for me. I will update if my opinion changes.

This is the last of this house's discovery set, and while I've worn all of them completely blind, not looking at the names or notes for several wearings, my overall impression is interesting and complex, but left feeling disenchanted. This fragrance is no different. The opening is complex, but light. Elements of floral seem clouded by more animalistic or bitter notes, leaving a mixed experience. While the complexity settles (more or less) the resulting aftermath isn't a sweet, lovely melody (or melancholy), or some other expression of poetry. I only mention this as the bottle and brand suggest otherwise. Looking at the notes, its disappointing because so many of these floral notes provide provide tho opportunity for poetic bliss and unwritten narrative, but as others from this house have reflected, it feels more like, "how many notes can I shove in this" over a collective and currated experience. Who knows if it's the notes themselves, or the inclusion of other, less expected notes such as the carrot seeds, but it just doesn't click, and more so at this price point. Beauty is the nose of the smeller, and (besides my curiosity being satisfied, and thank you for THE experience) ultimately is not an experience worth repeating.

A comment about the name of the perfume: Måne is Danish and Norwegian for moon, -løs is a suffix meaning “without”, so this would be “without moon”. For some reason, the nordic letters æ, ø and å seem to be fascinating to some in the English speaking world. For a Dane, this seems a bit silly, though not as bad as the use of ø in the fragrance Kanon, Kanøn, which sounds just like something Monsieur Closeau would say